Every week a reader gets a chance to put a travel question to the Been there community. How does this work?

This week's experts are Eli Viten from Rogaland Fylkeskommune, Chloé Mispelon, communications officer at European Cyclists' Federation (ECF), Stefanie Kagelmacher, marketing executive at Nordsee Tourismus Service in Germany, Leon Hoogsteen, marketing coordinator at Dutch National Cycling Platform and Colin Percy from Tynebikes

The dilemma:

I'm at the beginning stages of planning a cycling trip to Scandinavia, cycling from Bergen to Amsterdam, taking the North Sea cycle route most likely.
Would be grateful for any suggestions and tips.

Will

Our readers say:

Last month, I followed the North Sea Coast route from Gothenburg to the Hook of Holland (with a few detours), so I feel I'm in a fairly good position to offer advice and tips. In fact, feel free to get in touch with me directly if you like (Been there's got the email address). Anyway, my main tips and pieces of advice:

1. Don't follow the route from Løkken to Blokhus along the beach. Take a detour down through Pandrup instead. When I went, it had been sunny for days and so should have been at its best for cycling, but was so soft and uneven that I had to walk most of the 15km. If it's wet, it'd be even more unpleasant for riding. The plus point was that it is a fairly pleasant beach, with a lovely unbroken stretch of sea.

2. Take a detour to Ribe - it was probably the prettiest town I saw in Denmark. I had a lovely time there.

3. Instead of going straight from Søndervig to Nymindegab, take a detour around the Ringkøbing Fjord. It's pleasant and pretty, the winds are less strong and you get to avoid Hvide Sande, which seemed like a Danish version of Clacton or somewhere equally grim. But do go through the forested areas to the south of that, they're lovely and the last bit of forest you'll find for a fair while.

4. Don't be tempted to cut across and miss out Skagen/Grenen - it's absolutely worthwhile. Go right to the tip.

5. Do consider going the other way around, i.e. Amsterdam to Bergen. That way the wind will be with you. It wasn't disastrous for me, but there were a few days of real slog into pretty strong winds.

6. The Wadden Sea off Schleswig-Holstein is nice, but don't bother straying inland. I did, and it was largely straight, flat roads with ugly wind farms in every direction. Stick to the coast, and at least there'll be one direction you can look without having you sight assaulted by turbines.

7. Use panniers, not a trailer. Lots of the cycle paths are inherently unsuitable for trailers, and I was frequently thankful I didn't have one.

8. In Hamburg, there's a really cool tunnel under the Elbe, a bit like the one at Greenwich, but longer and with cycling allowed. Use it - even though you'll come out in an industrial area on the south side.

9. I took a detour south into the forested Naturpark Wildeshauser Geest south of Bremen, which contained some absolutely lovely cycling areas. A bit out of the way, but I had plenty of spare time, and would recommend it if you do too.

10. Another detour I'd recommend is from Leer south along the Ems. I went down to Meppen before turning and heading back north to Groningen, and had one of the best days of my whole trip.

11. Consider going via the Friesian islands, which are lovely, but bear in mind that transport between them is infrequent and often unpredictable. The Afsluitdijk is tremendously boring by car, so I imagine by bike it would be positively stultifying. I went around the old borders of the Ijsselmeer, avoiding the boring new polders, which enables one to visit pretty towns like Amersfoort, Giethoorn, Kampen and Elburg. Giethoorn in particular is very touristy, but still worth seeing. There's also a lovely forested area called Nationaal Park de Hoge Veluwe to the south of this route, which is full of heather. When I went, it wasn't flowering, but if it had been it would have been spectacular. I went down to Arnhem is search of some welcome hills, though that is a fairly significant detour.

12. If you're getting the ferry back from the Hoek, don't miss the (15km-ish) ride between Zandvoort and Noordwijk along a specially created path weaving over the dunes. Another of the best stretches of the route in my opinion.

Good luck!
Alan Evans

Dear Will,

First, get a good mirror.

Second, get the best saddle that money can buy.

Third, don't fight against headwinds. Go with the flow.

A long bike ride is a balance of bad against good and the aim is to make
sure that there is more good than bad so enjoy it as much as you can.

I've done my long distance riding in Australia and New Zealand and there are
a lot of empty spaces. So, I carry a small, lightweight folding aluminium
chair so I can have somewhere to sit when I have lunch or when I camp at
night.

Have fun,
John Gava


I would ask for advice from the hundreds of cyclists at cyclechat.co.uk

There is a specific Touring and Expedition section for this sort of advice
Richard Pountney

The experts say:

Eli Viten from Rogaland Fylkeskommune in Norway:

1.Start by checking the official North Sea Cycle Route web site:
a. Look into “Riders comments” for practical information from other cyclists. Many have done the trip before you and are happy to share their experiences.

b. Take 16 minutes (full version) or 4 minutes if you are busy (short version) to watch the NSCR video. Low resolution, but easy to download.

c. Short description of all regions and towns/villages under “Countries”. This will help you decide where to stop along the route, whether you prefer the larger towns, small villages, or the beauty spots “away from it all”.

d. If you click “Facts and figures” you will find other practical information, for example links or web addresses for tourist information offices, cyclist friendly accommodation and timetables for local, regional or national transportation.

e. Under “Tour Planning” you will find information on how to create your own tour guide and download as PDF. You need to go country by country. For example, starting in Norway you fill in Norway, Bergen and Hafslund. To find the starting and ending towns/areas you have to consult the map. Enlarge till all place names are visible, then make your choice. Pick and mix information to download.

2. Travelling from the UK to Bergen with a bicycle is complicated at the moment, the ferry connection between Newcastle and Bergen having been discontinued in September 2008 after running for 100 years. Air is the only direct possibility. Please contact your carrier (or travel agent) to check their transport policy regarding bicycles. We know that other cyclists have used Widerøe air company.

On the other hand, if you are planning to buy a brand new cycle for the trip, this could as well be bought in Bergen, saving you the transportation problems. Bergen has several bicycle shops, contact visitbergen.com for further information.

3.Short list of things to note along the route:

a. Norway: Natural beauty in large scale, but also pleasant villages and small towns along the coast. Remember to bring provisions for long stretches in rural areas, where shops and other services are few and far between. Petrol stations and grocery shops will be your best options in many rural areas. The signing is good on the west coast, poorer along the south and east coast. Very poor signing near the Swedish border at present. Bring good maps for this part. Some parts of the route have gravel, but hopefully the natural beauty in these areas will compensate for your efforts.

b. Sweden: Many charming fishing villages, beautiful beaches and pleasant agricultural landscape. The signing along the Swedish part of the route has been poor for some years, but is about to be completely “refurbished”. We will post the good news on our web site when the new signing is completed.

c. Denmark: The best beaches and the largest agricultural areas. Many small villages and summerhouses along the route. Has a long tradition for cycling and finding food and accommodation should be easy. Some very good campsites. The signposting is generally very good.

d. Germany: Long beaches and many charming villages along the route. Food and accommodation will generally be easier to find and cost less than in the Scandinavian countries.

e. The Netherlands: Perhaps the easiest country to cycle in Northern Europe. Catering for the cyclist’s needs. The signing is of very good quality, so are the paths and their surface. Easy to find food and accommodation and here, too, you will find the prices lower than in Scandinavia.


Chloé Mispelon, communications officer at European Cyclists' Federation (ECF):

Cycling holidays are an unforgettable experience. But above all cycling is a relaxing, fun and easy way to discover a region and its inhabitants.

The route
Between Bergen and Amsterdam you can Follow the EuroVelo 12 or North Sea Cycle Route. The website is full of info links, contacts and pictures.
If you want to contact people personally, you can also join the North Sea Cycle Route Project group on Facebook. If you go there with you gps you can participate to the improvement of the map on opencyclemap.org

How to go there
Two possibilities: by plane or by boat (unless you are very good at swimming). If you are carrying your own bike, the boat might be the easiest solution. But it takes much longer. You can find information on the official website of Bergen Port. If you take the plane, you have to be very careful with your bike. It has to be dismantled and well protected. Some interesting experiences on bikeaccess.net.

Alone/group/travel agency
If you have cycling touring experience, you will probably plan your journey, itinerary, accommodation by yourself. The EuroVelo route is signposted in both directions with local signage. To be sure that you don’t forget any detail you can also use a travel agency specialized in cycling touring. Some of them offer full package journeys. It can be the occasion to meet others cyclists.

Accommodation
These regions are quite well furnished in accommodation for tourists and cycling tourists. You may take a backpacker guide book if you are looking for special tips and cheap places, but you can also find cyclists friendly place on the map section of northsea-cycle.com

When to go
To sum up, May through September is the best period. But in general spring, summer and autumn are OK. Avoid winter, unless you're looking for a sportive challenge.

What to bring
If you are familiar with cycling holidays, you probably already have your own equipment. You can also find some inspiration on: kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/travel.htm
Don't forget that even during summer temperatures can be cold during the day. So don't forget to cover yourself.

Cycling community:
International Bicycle Travel Forum
International Bicycle Touring Mailing List



Stefanie Kagelmacher, marketing executive at Nordsee Tourismus Service in Germany:

When cycling the NSCR in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany), you should definitely make a detour to the Frisian islands, such as Sylt, Föhr or Amrum and the worldwide unique holms, the so called “swimming dreams”. This is also a great opportunity to explore the waddensea, that has recently been added to the World Heritage List.

Leon Hoogsteen, marketing coordinator at Dutch National Cycling Platform:

Always check
northsea-cycle.com and sustrans.org.uk for planning your trip

In the Netherlands the NSCR follows the Dutch Coastal Route. This is a so called LF-route. Read more at our website

Nice to know
Most cyclist prefer an affordable and small kind of accommodation. In the Netherlands we’ve got:
Green campingspots:

Local B&B network

And the most special one is our friends on bikes network: Vrienden op de Fiets - a guide containing about 3700 B&B ddresses in Holland and Belgium.


Colin Percy from Tynebikes:

I assume you plan to cycle generally southwards through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland (as the ferry to Newcastle and the UK bit of the route no longer runs).

The obvious first reponse is to have a look at the NSCR web site. It does not have every last detail of every bit of the route, but it gives a good overview and lots of contact details.

The next obvious point is to plan ahead. There can be quite long stretches without accommodation, so unless you are camping, you need to be sure to have somewhere to sleep the next night before you set off each day. The Norwegian stetch is perhaps the most beautiful and dramatic, but also the most hilly, so get some fitness training in before you start. The Swedish coast (unless you take the short cut straight across from Norway to northern Denmark) is less hilly but very still very beautiful. Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands are progressively flatter, so you can assume higher mileage there. Some stretches between towns in Germany are, to be honest, a little dull so get some good long days in there to cover the distance.

Good luck and good cycling.

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